The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 3 Appendix: Executive Orders

Chapter 021: Labor

• Executive Order No. 21-1 (No. 36-70) [Transfer of Funds and Responsibilities for Program of Day-Care Services for Children of Working Mothers and Guardians]

  Revoked and rescinded by Executive Order No. 3-46 (codified as Executive Order 06-05), dated September 13, 2005.

• Executive Order No. 21-2 (No. 55-81) [Administration of Comprehensive Employment and Training Office]

  Revoked and rescinded by Executive Order No. 3-46 (codified as Executive Order 06-05), dated September 13, 2005.

• Executive Order No. 21-3 (No. 04-85) [Wage Rates on Rouses Point Bridge Project]

  Revoked and rescinded by Executive Order No. 3-46 (codified as Executive Order 06-05), dated September 13, 2005.

• Executive Order No. 21-4 (No. 02-93) [Governor’s Advisory Council on Workers’ Compensation]

  Revoked and rescinded by Executive Order No. 3-46 (codified as Executive Order 06-05), dated September 13, 2005.

• Executive Order No. 21-5 (No. 06-95) [Child Care Partnership Committee]

  WHEREAS, the Governor’s Partnership in Child Care Committee has worked diligently to carry out its mandate since its inception in 1988; and

  WHEREAS, the Governor’s Partnership in Child Care Committee has succeeded in identifying and promoting its specific goals of increasing public awareness and improving training and advocacy as a means of promoting high quality child care through partnership between the state, community and private sector; and

  WHEREAS, the work of the Governor’s Partnership in Child Care Committee has moved in a new direction which now can be accomplished outside of the framework of government.

  NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT I, Howard Dean, by virtue of the power vested in me as Governor, do hereby revoke and rescind Executive Order #59-88 dated April 8, 1988.

  This Executive Order shall take effect upon signing.

  Dated September 11, 1995.

• Executive Order No. 21-6 (No. 01-99) [Vermont State Workforce Investment Board]

  Revoked and rescinded by Executive Order No. 3-50 (codified as Executive Order 10-09), dated December 23, 2009.

• Executive Order No. 21-7 (No. 06-01) [Transfer of the Division of Occupational Health from the Department of Health to the Department of Labor and Industry]

  Revoked and rescinded by Executive Order No. 3-46 (codified as Executive Order 06-05), dated September 13, 2005.

• Executive Order No. 21-8 (No. 01-05) [Merger of Department of Labor and Industry and Department of Employment and Training]

  WHEREAS, the Governor, pursuant to 3 V.S.A. Section 2001, may make such changes in the organization of the executive branch or in the assignment of functions among its units as he considers necessary for efficient administration; and

  WHEREAS, it is desirable to reorganize the departments and divisions of government by better coordinating certain activities and improve the coordination and effectiveness of services to the public; and

  WHEREAS, the missions of both the Department of Labor and Industry and the Department of Employment and Training involve ensuring and providing employment security, employment related services, labor market information, compensation, safety and training for Vermont workers and their employers, as well as providing for the public safety and welfare; and

  WHEREAS, the State could improve and enhance services to the public through the merger of the Department of Labor & Industry and the Department of Employment and Training into a single Department.

  NOW THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by 3 V.S.A. chapter 41 as Governor, I, James H. Douglas, do hereby create a Department of Labor by merging the Department of Labor and Industry and the Department of Employment and Training. The Department of Labor shall be successor to the Department of Labor and Industry and the Department of Employment and Training.

  1. All duties, responsibilities and authority of the Department of Labor and Industry and the Department of Employment and Training are hereby transferred to the Department of Labor.

  2. The positions of Commissioner of Labor and Industry and Commissioner of Employment and Training are abolished and all the duties, responsibilities, and authority of those Commissioners are hereby transferred to the Commissioner of the Department of Labor.

  3. All other authorized positions and equipment of the Department of Labor and Industry and the Department of Employment and Training are transferred to the Department of Labor.

  4. The following Boards, Commissions, and Councils are attached to the Department of Labor for administrative purposes: Electricians’ Licensing Board, Plumbers’ Examining Board, Apprenticeship Council, the Passenger Tramway Board, Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council, Human Resources Investment Council (HRIC), Employment Security Board, Unemployment Advisory Council, and Displaced Homemaker Policy Council.

  5. Effective July 1, 2005, the Department of Labor shall administer all programs formerly administered by the Department of Labor and Industry and the Department of Employment and Training, including, but not limited to:

  • Workers’ Compensation program (21 V.S.A. §§ 601-1023);

  • V.O.S.H.A. and Project WorkSAFE programs (21 V.S.A. §§ 201-232 and 18 V.S.A. §§ 1415-1418 (transferred to Labor & Industry by Executive Order No. 21-7 dated 12/21/2001));

  • Passenger Tramway program (31 V.S.A. §§ 701-712);

  • Apprenticeship law (21 V.S.A. §§ 1101-1105);

  • State and Federal job training and employment services programs, including those authorized by 21 V.S.A. §§ 1201-1206 and 21 V.S.A. §§ 1231-1232 and 10 V.S.A. §§ 531, 541, 542;

  • Youth in Agriculture (21 V.S.A. §§ 1151-1153);

  • Electrician Licensing (26 V.S.A. §§ 881-915 and 9 V.S.A. §§ 3201-3206), Plumbing Inspection and Licensing (26 V.S.A. §§ 2171-2199), and Elevator Inspection and Licensing programs (21 V.S.A. §§ 141-157);

  • Unemployment Compensation law (21 V.S.A §§ 1301-1461);

  • Employee Leasing (21 V.S.A. §§ 1031-1043);

  • Wage/Hour and Child Labor program (21 V.S.A. §§ 301-519).

  • Wage/Hour and Child Labor program (21 V.S.A. §§ 301-519).

  6. Effective July 1, 2005, the Department shall consist of three divisions: the Division of Workers’ Compensation and Safety, the Division of Workforce Development, and the Division of Unemployment Insurance and Wages.

  7. The Department of Labor shall be headed by a Commissioner appointed by the Governor, with advice and consent of the Senate. The Commissioner of Labor may appoint the following exempt positions: an executive assistant, a director to head each division, a deputy, and a general counsel.

  8. The Commissioner of Labor shall further study the effectiveness, priority and delivery of services and shall report to the governor by November 15, 2005, any further recommendation for restructuring and/or statutory changes.

  This Executive Order shall take effect on July 1, 2005, unless disapproved by the General Assembly pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 2002. This Executive Order shall be submitted to the General Assembly pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 2002(b).

  Dated January 14, 2005

• Executive Order No. 21-9 (No. 08-12) [Governor’s Task Force on Employee Misclassification]

  WHEREAS, Vermont law provides that all workers are considered employees unless a worker is lawfully exempt as an “independent contractor,” and

  WHEREAS, when an employee is misclassified as an independent contractor, the employer potentially violates numerous laws, and

  WHEREAS, the misclassification of employees harms Vermont workers by depriving them of important legal rights, harms Vermont taxpayers and the State’s economy through the loss of state and federal payroll taxes, and harms employers who abide by the law by enabling non-compliant business to gain an unfair advantage, and

  WHEREAS, Vermont’s laws regarding misclassification must be aggressively enforced in a coordinated, timely, and consistent manner by all agencies and departments.

  NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that I, Peter Shumlin, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Vermont, do hereby create the “Governor’s Task Force on Employee Misclassification” as set forth below.

  I. Composition, Appointments, and Process.

  The Task Force shall consist of the following members:

  — The Secretary of Administration or designee

  — The Commissioner of Labor or designee

  — The Commissioner of Financial Regulation or designee

  — The Commissioner of Taxes or designee

  — The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services or designee

  — The Secretary of Transportation or designee

  — The Secretary of Human Services or designee

  — The Secretary of Commerce or designee

  — The Commissioner of Liquor Control or designee

  The Task Force may also request the participation of other state officials, including the Attorney General or designee and the Secretary of State or designee.

  The Commissioner of Labor or his or her designee shall chair the Task Force. The Task Force may elect a deputy chair. The Department of Labor shall provide administrative support. The Task Force shall meet every two months at the call of the Chair or deputy chair.

  II. Charge.

  The Task Force is charged with combating the practice of employee misclassification and shall report its findings to the Governor on January 15 of each year.

  The Task Force shall:

  A. Examine and evaluate existing misclassification enforcement by agencies and departments;

  B. Develop and implement a campaign to educate and inform employers, workers, and the general public about misclassification;

  C. Coordinate review of existing law and other methods to improve monitoring and enforcement of misclassification;

  D. Review and establish reasonable mechanisms to accept complaints and reports of non-compliance;

  E. Review templates for state contracts and grants and monitor systems to ensure compliance by contractors and grant recipients;

  F. Identify barriers to information sharing and recommend statutory changes where necessary;

  G. Work collaboratively with businesses, labor, and other interested stakeholders in the effort to reduce employee misclassification;

  H. Ensure that agencies and departments are engaged in timely enforcement and that any penalties and debarment periods are posted to a publicly available website in a timely manner, where permitted by law. Additional methods of public notice and information sharing shall be reviewed and recommended by the Task Force.

  I. Engage in other activities as deemed necessary and appropriate by the Task Force, as permitted by law.

  All agencies and departments shall cooperate with the Task Force and furnish information in a timely fashion. The Task Force is authorized to receive monetary and other assistance in furtherance of its duties upon approval of the Governor in accordance with law. The Department of Labor shall be the fiscal recipient of any such funds.

  III. Effective Date.

  This Executive Order shall take effect upon signing and shall continue in full force and effect until further order by the Governor.

  Dated September 8, 2012.